In a recent Monday Superintendent E-Mail, KDE staff shared a clarification for district leaders on the topic of when diet beverages may be sold at schools:
There has recently been discussion about diet carbonated beverages and whether they are permitted to be sold on school campuses pursuant to 7 CFR 210.11 and 702 KAR 6:090, the federal and state regulations that govern the sale of beverages on school campuses.
Please be advised that when interpreting state and federal regulations, KDE applies the most restrictive regulation when a conflict arises between state and federal regulation.
Please be further advised that KDE interprets these regulations to mean that:
· during the period beginning thirty (30) minutes after the last lunch period until thirty (30) minutes after the end of the last instructional period, it is permissible to offer diet carbonated beverages with caffeine for sale through a vending machine, school store, canteen, or fundraiser on school property to high school students as long as the beverage does not exceed 20 ounces.
· However, it is only permissible to offer diet carbonated beverages to middle school and elementary school students as long as the beverage does not exceed 17 ounces and contains only trace amounts of naturally occurring caffeine substances.
· The same rules regarding beverages set forth above apply during food service pursuant to 702 KAR 6:090, Section 3.
If you have any questions about this issue, please contact Deanna Tackett at [email protected].